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We are still in discussions about where the route will go. We have a conference call again this afternoon with the Center for Minority Health at the University of Pittsburgh, and we'll talk a bit more about where we think that it should go.

We have talked about starting the route in Mobile, AL and then following the route of the song up to the Ohio River. From the river, there are many options....and it's possible that we might have two, or even three different routes.

Since this is a new experience for us in collaberating with so many other groups, it will take a little time to get the project going. We anticipate identifying the first part of the route this fall and trying to do some research. We hope to have the whole route mapped and ready for riding at the beginning of the 2007 riding year.

I'd like to welcome you to the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route forum. On this forum we are going to be hosting the updates in the development process of the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route. I'll also be keeping an eye on the posts to answer any questions that people may have.

I would suggest to take a look at the Adventure Cycling routes http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/network.cfm From there, find out which parts you could potentially use. The next step is to get in touch with the bike coordinators for the states in which you will be traveling through. The bike coordinators have a wealth of information that they can distribute for no charge. Most every state publishes a bicycle map of their state that they will send out for free....and while the maps aren't as detailed as ours, they generally offer suggested roads for cycling through their state. Some states, such as Colorado and Wisconsin, have outstanding information, while other states are much simpler. But every little piece of information can help. Here is a link to the contact information for all of the bicycle coordinators: http://cms.transportation.org/?siteid=59&pageid=852

Hi Susan,Your mileages sound about right. I led a Southern Tier trip years ago and we averaged about 62 miles for the whole trip. There are a couple of longer stretches in Texas, and a couple in Arizona, between motels. Those are in the 80 mile range. Your dollar figure for the hotels is about right for the rural areas. If you end up staying in a city though, the rooms might be closer to $60. However, in some of the cities (Austin, El Paso, St. Augustine, San Diego) there are youth hostels that are nice and inexpensive.

As far as traveling by yourself, we havent heard of anyone having trouble doing this. From the folks that Ive talked to, it seems though the hardest part about solo travel is people not having anyone to talk to for long stretches of the day.If you would write to me directly with your email address (trobertson@adventurecycling.org) I can email you a few pdf's of articles that have appeared in our magazine about traveling solo; as well as a couple on the Southern Tier.

If you do indeed go into Whitefish, the best way to get to Missoula is to take the Great Parks North route down following Hwy. 83 and 200. If you didn't want to go all the way to Whitefish though, you could "turn left" in Havre and follow Highway 87 to Great Falls, and then Hwy. 200 to Missoula. Most of this is on the Lewis and Clark Route. It's a bit more direct. But if you took this you would miss riding through Glacier National Park, one of the highlights on the Northern Tier Route. Another option is to turn south in Columbia Falls (just east of Whitefish) to pick up the Great Parks Route south on Hwy. 83. This is a very scenic route as well.

US Hwy. 30 would be the shortest, and most direct, route from Longview to Portland. It is part of the Lewis and Clark Bicycle Route, Section #7. The bridge going over the river at Longview is TALL. There is also a ferry that crosses west of Longview, but you would have to ride "backwards" to get to it.

US Hwy. 30 does have more traffic as you approach Portland, but there is a good shoulder for the ride.

From Portland, the only route that Adventure Cycling uses to get back to the coast is on US 30. You might try to get in touch with the bike coordinator from Oregon to pick up a state bike map. They most likely will have other options for you to get back. They also can get you a city bike map of Portland. Here is their contact info:

I would that you get in touch with the bike coordinators for the states in which you will be traveling through. The bike coordinators have a wealth of information that they can distribute for no charge. Most every state publishes a bicycle map of their state that they will send out for free....and while the maps aren't as detailed as ours, they generally offer suggested roads for cycling through their state. Some states, such as Colorado and Wisconsin, have outstanding information, while other states are much simpler. But every little piece of information can help. Here is a link to the contact information for all of the bicycle coordinators: http://cms.transportation.org/?siteid=59&pageid=852

Adventure Cycling has a brand new route in and out of Vancouver that was just researched a couple of months ago. We just got these maps back from the printer. If you send me your email address I can send you pdf's of the new route coming out of Vancouver.

The map BC-1543 00L was updated in the year 2000. Those two numbers before the "L" represent the year that it was updated.

I can't think of any specific changes between 1984 and the year 2000, but I'm sure that there were several small ones. We are constantly tweaking the route in areas where there is growth, trying to stay on those bicycle friendly roads.

I will say that the majority of changes on the maps are the services. Since the TransAm route, and most all of our other routes, are in mostly rural areas, services (restaurants, motels, campgrounds, etc.) tend to open and close quite often.

The new route for the Florida section of the Atlantic Coast route is now at the printer. We hope to have them back in the office around the end of the month of March. We have a new section that travels from St. Augustine down the east coast ending in Key West. We also have a new "Florida Connector" route that leaves St. Augustine and travels west across the state to Fort Myers Beach, then crosses back to the east side of the state ending in Ft. Lauderdale. This should allow for a couple of different loop options. There is also information on the maps for a ferry connector between Key West and Ft. Myers Beach.

Feel free to write to us at Adventure Cycling towards the end of the month to check on the status of the maps.

My husband and I just spent the night in June's Bike House. She was very determined to recover from her stroke in order to operate the Bike House this season, but her broken arm has put her back. She doesn't have a cast on yet as she has to ice it to get the swelling down first. Once the cast is on, it will stay on for 6 weeks. To top it off, it is her right arm.

She has hired Debbie to help her Mon.-Fri. in her home and in the Bike House. Neither Debbie nor June drive. June is a bit worried about not having anyone around on weekends to open the Bike House, help cyclists, etc. as she is not very mobile.

June sings praises about the Milepost Zero Bike Club as they help her lots. But she still needs more help. Would it be possible to put out a notice online, and/or in your magazine for volunteers to stay on weekends to operate the Bike House this season?

Film for her camera, Polaroid 600, is expensive for her. Could you also ask cyclists for donations as she adores taking photos of everyone, even with her broken arm.

I'm not sure about picking up at the Seattle Amtrak station, but it is a possibility. Here is a shuttle service that can take you to Anacortes. A couple of years ago it seems though they were charging about $70 for 2 folks and luggage and bikes. Here is their link:http://www.airporter.com/dev_doc/airporter.htm

The bike coordinators have a wealth of information that they can distribute for no charge. Most every state publishes a bicycle map of their state that they will send out for free....and while the maps aren't as detailed as ours, they generally offer suggested roads for cycling through their state. Some states, such as Colorado and Wisconsin, have outstanding information, while other states are much simpler. But every little piece of information can help.

In the past, we have suggested a couple of different things for folks that want to send their bikes to their starting point ahead of time. One is to get in touch with one of the bike shops on the map, and send it there. If doing this, most folks go ahead and get the bike shop to put their bike together (generally around $25 per bike) so that they are ready to go when they pick them up. The other suggestion is to go ahead and make hotel, hostel or campground reservations for when you are arriving, then ask to ship the bikes there. They can then hold the bikes for you, and they should be there waiting for you when you arrive.